Enchanted
by Pink Pal
Summary: Knuckles is in love with Rouge, but he fears that she will never be his', as he believes that Shadow is plotting against him to steal Rouge from his reach. Little does Knuckles know, that Shadow thinks exactly the same of him. When Shadow visits a legendary sorcerer, who he makes a deal with to recieve a powerful love potion, it brings horrifying consequencs for them both...
1. Chapter 1: It's A Beautiful Day!

**Specially dedicated to my amazing BETA: musicalocelot. This is the first chapter of the story. Sorry musicalocelot, I thought I wouldn't let you BETA read this chapter, just so it comes up as a surprise for you! You will be BETA reading the rest, though!**

"Such a beautiful place…" asserted the ivory, teenage bat, who was seated comfortably upon the lime-grassed hillside, which was set beside the unoccupied adventure playground. She wore a sequin-covered, plum dress, skin-tight, aquamarine leggings, and glittery, magenta high-heels. As the young female admired the tender, flush sunset, the refrigerated breeze wafted past and rustled her snow-white fur.

"I'm glad you like it! Every evening, just before the sun sinks into the far-off hills, I always sit right at this very spot. It's such a mesmorising sight, don't you think? All the cotton clouds, eye-pleasing colours of the sky...it's the perfect sight to help you relax after any stressful day!"

The owner of the voice was a wine-red echidna, who was dressed in a plain, white shirt tucked into his ebony trousers, a raven-coloured blazer with turned out pockets, and matching derby shoes. The split second, in which his violet eyes met his partner's teal ones, his heart became a pound of butter inside a switched-on oven; his heart melted at the elegant sight of her perfectly-sculptured face. He loved her.

Oh, how he craved the desirable experience to lay just one gloved finger upon that silky cheek. Unfortunately, however, he knew that although he shared romantic feelings towards one her…she would never be his'. Surely, she would find another soul, one who would appear to be more appealing for her taste of men, and then she would disappear and make love with the lucky thing. He loathed having to think about such matters, but he could not help but feel doubt that something as likely as that would never happen…

Knuckles (the name of the echidna), withdrew two transparent glasses from his rucksack, and poured some fine champagne into each one. Rouge's (the bat's name) deliciously pink lips curved upwards to form a delighted smile.

"Champagne?" offered Knuckles, holding out the filled glass to her.

"Aww, an unexpected treat for me! How could I say no to that?" remarked Rouge, willingly taking the glass off Knuckles, as she leant over on her side.

Kneeling opposite her, gradually sipping his champagne, Knuckles observed the tranquil bat with the greatest intrigue. She looked so laid-back, so peaceful and happy…it seemed to be completely unrealistic. Usually, when the two encountered, a fight would often erupt! Why was it that this time was different? What was making her so relaxed? Had she finally started accepting his presence? Knuckles desperately wanted to know.

"Ya know, I never thought I'd ever say this, but we're really starting to become better friends as each day's passing by. I thought I knew you so well, Knuckles…but it turns out I don't. I once saw you as a real hot-headed, I'm-the-toughest-dude-around-here kinda guy! But now I've got to know you better, you're actually...quite sweet!" mimicked Rouge, her delicate eyes shining in the fading light.

Knuckles grumbled in annoyance; he HATED being referred to as 'sweet'! None-the-less, he felt relieved at the fact that Rouge actually viewed him as a decent person for once in her existence, instead of an arrogant prat.

"Erm, thanks! So, how's your spy-slash-secret-agent job going?" he asked, as he cursed iumnder his breath due to the spilt champagne staining his shirt. Rouge smirked.

"Reasonably well! The G.U.N Commander is literally drowning me in all the thrilling paperwork, that is, whilst me and Shadow aren't out in the field. Oh, Shadow! He's his usual, charming self! We don't see each other as often as we'd like to, though, thanks to the surprising lack of missions available! There's not much work for us agents nowadays anymore!" growled Rouge, swallowing the last drop of champagne in her crystal-clear glass.

Refilling her glass, Knuckles nodded his head in agreement. "I know, that Egghead sure hasn't shown his face around here for a while! I probably scared him off."

Rouge chuckled. "No surprise there, then!"

When Rouge extended her arm to reclaim her glass from Knuckles, their hands accidently touched, and in that moment, something stirred in both of them. As their grown eyes met, the whole world surrounding them turned into an endless, overcast void. The champagne-holding glass was no more to be seen, neither was Knuckles' rucksack, nor the grass they were sitting on!

Their faces languidly approaching, their mouths opening, the two were mere centimetres apart…till Rouge's eyes blinked, breaking the developing loving mood. She cleared her throat and hastily scrambled to her feet.

"Anyway, thanks for the sunset-show, Knucks! It sure has been nice catching up with you after all this time! I'd like to do this again sometime. I'll see ya soon, then. By the way, don't call me tomorrow, cause' I'm going out with Shadow. Okay?" said Rouge, ambling away.

Knuckles waved goodbye to her. "Alright, see you!"

He gritted his teeth as Shadow's name rang through his head like a million chiming bells. Shadow was a midnight-coloured hedgehog with red streaks across his quills, who just so happened to be the other male who Rouge liked...as a friend, that is. However, Knuckles could not help but have the feeling that Shadow was secretly plotting against him; Shadow would be plotting to steal Rouge off him. Afterall, Shadow knew that Knuckles had something of a soft spot towards the female bat, and Shadow seemed to be growing fonder of Rouge every day.

"Shadow…that hedgehog better not get any ideas to drag Rouge onto his side, or I WILL be on his case twenty-four seven!"


	2. Chapter 2: Where Are We Going?

Maroon eyes flickered open in response to the cacophonous noise, which was coming from the vibrating alarm clock on the oak-made bedside table, stood beside the serene double bed. A tightly clenched fist was brought down onto the clock, causing it to explode and fall utterly silent as a result.

Yawning to reveal miniscule fangs, a midnight-with-crimson-streaks-hedgehog (called Shadow) casually removed the chalky bed sheets from his slim body and sat upright, welcoming the blistering sunlight into his smooth skin with open arms.

Stepping inside his shower and turning the shower head on, he yelped in agony as litres of polar water streamed down onto him. He cursed as thousands of goosebumps broke out along his arms.

"For goodness' sake! Is there ANY warmth in this damn house?" he spat, releasing his grip on the shower head, therefore allowing it to clash with the cream-tile wall.

After what seemed like hours of merciless wrestling with the aggravating shower, Shadow dried himself down with a towel he had disposed of in the dustbin several times, threw on the smartest suit and tie he could find in his jammed wardrobe, and slinked sleepily downstairs for his early breakfast.

Indulging into his fresh croissants with butter finely spread across the tops, Shadow lay sprawled along his leather suite, his eyes firmly fixed upon the switched-on television. It was the news and its normal, 'someone died', 'some celebrity couple (Shadow never had a clue who these so-called 'celebrities' were) having a baby', 'the weather is sunny in some parts and rainy in others'…basically, nothing new.

Shadow rolled his eyes in annoyance, as he started flicking through the channels to discover that the best programme on was The X Factor, that was how bad the TV in a morning was.

Jumping out of his skin at the unanticipated ring of the doorbell, Shadow left his half-devoured croissants on the coffee table in front of him, and wandered lazily over to the clarw-marked door, expecting it to be the entertainingly boring girl scouts from down the road. Even though he had slammed the door on their face god knows how many times, they always seemed to be willing to return, even if their return would earn them just a single coin (they were collecting money for their unit to spend on new, less-annoying girls, probably).

Creaking the rusty door open, preparing to close it again, Shadow received a rather pleasant surprise…it was Rouge! The teenage bat looked absolutely cher in her glittery, scarlet dress, which Shadow noticed was uncomfortably low on her heaving breasts, (it was uncomfortable for him, as he could not stop looking there), her super-skinny, tar-coloured tights, and her matching high-heels.

"Hey, Shadow! You look so surprised to see me! Well, it sure does feel nice to be noticed…and boy, do you look smart, or what?" complimented Rouge, wobbling a little as her heel gave way.

"What?" asked Shadow, looking puzzled. Rouge shook her head with a smirk.

"Nope, you look smart! Um, can I come in?" she asked, grumbling as the wild wind rushed past and messed up her neatly combed fur.

Shadow opened the door wider and gestured for her to proceed, and as she entered the house, she unwillingly brought the wind in with her. Breathing heavily in horror, Shadow dived forwards to catch a falling turquoise vase just seconds before it made contact with the wooden floorboards. Sighing in relief, he clambered to his feet and placed it back on the oak drawers beside the black telephone.

"Oh, geez! I'm so sorry for this!" apologized Rouge, as she tripped over several sneakers, sending them sliding across the floor in all directions.

Shadow shrugged his shoulders as he went around gathering up the sneakers one by one. "It's okay."

Collapsing onto the suite, puffing out breaths of exhausted air, Rouge grinned upon noticing the almost completely chewed-up croissant set next to her.

"Well, well, well! Bonjour, monsieur Shadow!" she remarked, rather cheerily. Shadow, (who had finished collecting all of his sneakers and idly shifting them to one side) stood before her looking confounded.

"Excuse me?" he questioned, feeling curious of her unexpected, cheesy comment. Rouge pointed at the croissant.

"I never knew Shadow the Hedgehog was actually a frog!" she joked (lamely). Rolling his eyes in disbelief, Shadow wandered into the spacious kitchen, where three active ovens, two whizzing washing machines, a rectangular-shaped table with ten leather chairs tucked beneath it, and an amber-marble working surface patiently awaited.

"Tea, or coffee?" offered Shadow, flinging open the doors of the cupboard above the churning microwave to reveal stashes of multi-coloured mugs.

"Seriously, Shadow? I come here like, every week, and I have exactly the same drink every time!" groaned Rouge, folding her arms in annoyance.

Shadow sighed. "Fine, coffee it is." He started to make the steaming cup of coffee for Rouge, randomly snatching a few crumpled packets of chocolate biscuits off the side as he did so, even though it was still early in the morning; fresh coffee and biscuits would surely satisfy Rouge, and that was all Shadow desired.

Snuggling on the suite as they sipped their coffee and almost vomited on the biscuits, (which Shadow had discovered that their 'best until' date had been three months ago), Shadow and Rouge started to engage in stirring conversation, suggesting enthralling places they could spend the day at.

To Shadow's utter disappointment, (not to mention aggravation) all Rouge desired was a simple trip to the mall, and Shadow despised shopping more than he disliked Jedward…which meant that he hated it an awful lot.

As they sat there, squabbling like an old married couple for hours on end, not realizing that their coffee had literally turned into melted brown-coloured ice, Shadow and Rouge finally gave in to the fact that they just could not agree on a day out plan.

Suddenly, an overwhelming lightbulb flashed in Shadow's mind. Why hadn't he thought of this brilliant idea before? It was where every girl wanted to spend her date with her guy, wasn't it?

"Rouge, I have an idea. I know you will accept it. Tell me, how do you feel about spending the day at Gold Rose & Silver Linings?" quizzed Shadow, rather slyly.

Rouge's face ignited with extreme joy at the sound of the name, her ears perked up and her eyes grew above her head.

"G-G-G…G-Gold Rose & Silver Linings?" she repeated, feeling faint at his unforseen solution.

Nodding to confirm that every word he had just quoted was for real, Shadow felt his heart flutter up to the back of his throat. Would she affirm the prodigious invitation, or would she be so cold-hearted that she would decline the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

Crossing his fingers behind his back, Shadow eyeballed Rouge with the greatest suspicion. What was going through that pure mind of hers'? He could clearly see that she was observing the offer with the up most caution, yet he caught a hint of doubt sparkling in the corner of her dainty eyes.

Finally, after what seemed like a century passed, she spoke up. "But…Sh-Sh-Shadow, i-isn't that too expensive? I mean, it costs two hundred dollars to go for one day!"

Shadow smiled. "Nah, I've been planning to take you out somewhere that's a bit pricey. I've been saving up for it!" Rouge's face lifted even more as Shadow removed a mountain load of dollars from his suit pockets.

"Oh, Shadow! Thank you! Thank you so much!" she cried, flinging her arms around him and pressing his chest against hers'. Groaning in pain as her heels pierced a hole in each of his feet, Shadow wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in even closer. They rarely had hugs like this, and when they did, it was the most wonderful thing ever.

Once they had emptied their mugs and dumped the decayed biscuits in the dustbin, Shadow and Rouge left Shadow's house and entered the rambunctious atmosphere outside, where a breath-taking rainbow of screeching cars sped down the winding road, and hundreds of gossiping people trundled across the pavement.

Carefully taking Rouge's hand in his', Shadow led the female bat down the couple of steps in front of his front door, and guided her towards his raven-coloured sports car.

Rouge gasped in amazement at the humongous vehicle awaiting her, and she drooled at the milky leather seats, which looked so luxurious, it was unrealistic!

Acting as her chauffeur, Shadow opened the door of the passenger's seat and signalled for her to get in. Leaning over, so she could wriggle her way inside, Rouge was blown away by the sugary fragrances wafting out of the furry, scarlet dice dangling off his dazzling mirror.

Noticing that she was awestruck at the sight of his car, Shadow grinned, as he knew that he was close to achieving his goal…he softly closed the door, in attempt not to startle Rouge, and parked himself on the driver's seat.

Shadow started the engine, causing booming vrooms to escape from the car, which made Rouge drool even more. "Right, let's go."

As the car rolled off the steep drive and rocketed down the road, Rouge got out her phone as it vibrated in her pocket. It was Knuckles. His text message read: "So where u and Shadow goin thn?"

Without hesitating to think what a stupid idea it would be to tell him where they were heading to, Rouge sent a message back to him in reply: "Gold Rose & Silver Linings!"

At his house, a calculating smirk formed across Knuckles' muzzle. He had a plan, and he was ready to put it into action. "Knuckles, it's time you got some fresh air!"


	3. Chapter 3: Gold Rose & Silver Linings!

"Wow, this is indescribable!" breathed Rouge, as Shadow's raven-coloured sports car pulled into a parking space in the swamped car park.

The building in front was a colossal, pearly palace of serene beauty. Alpine palm trees surrounded it, they were security officers shielding it from intruders. 'Gold Rose & Silver Linings' were golden letters engraved into a giant, bronze sign, which was fixed on the wall above the glistening, double glass doors. Dotted all over the building front were stained glass windows, their mesmerising colours producing fine rainbows in the sunlight.

Shadow yanked his car key out to bring the engine to a stop. "I knew you would have a good first impression.

Opening his door with caution, as he did not want to catch the silver four wheel drive next to him, Shadow exited his car and hurried round to the other side, where he opened the door for Rouge. Intrigued at his hospitality, Rouge thanked him in the most decent manner she could manage, and climbed out of the car carefully, trying not to scratch anything on her way out.

As soon as Shadow had closed the door and removed the suitcases from the boot, not forgetting to lock his car, he and Rouge willingly linked arms with each other, and ambled through the car park towards the pebbled path leading up to the front doors.

"This is lovely, Shadow. You really are a good friend!" complimented Rouge. Shadow felt like rocketing into infinity; to hear Rouge say those magical words out loud was the sweetest music to his ears! He shook his head to bring him back to his senses before he did something that was totally out of character.

The glass doors automatically opened as they approached them, revealing a commodious room washed in likable fuchsia and maroon shades. Spick-and-span marble tiles running along the floor reflected an awestruck crimson-splashed hedgehog and ivory bat. They were heading for a long row of oak desks, each one having a receptionist behind them, all of whom seemed to be performing the same tasks: completing paperwork and typing away at their computers.

One of the receptionists, a young male rabbit with hazel fur, bulging, emerald eyes and floppy ears gave them a welcoming smile, indicating that he wanted them to come over. Rouge noticed that a few of the other male receptionists were watching her in wonder.

"Bonjour, monsieur et madame! Welcome to Gold Rose & Silver Linings, ze five-star rated valentine hotel and leisure complex. How many I be of assistance?" greeted the man, bowing his head in respect. Rouge arched an eyebrow at his peculiar nature.

"Bonjour, I booked me and my partner here the golden stay. Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat." Shadow winked at Rouge, who blushed the same colour as the streaks in his quills. Had Shadow the Hedgehog truthfully called her his 'partner'?

The man typed at his computer and scrolled down the extensive list of bookings on the screen until his eyes met the said names. "Oui. Would you please fill out this form, monsieur?" he questioned, handing a sheet of paper over to Shadow.

Nodding, Shadow took the paper and removed a pen from his blazer pocket and scribbled down details such as his mobile phone number and his credit card details. Once he had completed the form, and had double checked that the information he recorded down was one hundred per cent accurate, Shadow passed the sheet back to the man, who speed read it.

"Merci, beaucoup. That will be five hundred dollars, please!" requested the man, patiently holding his open hand out in preparation to be loaded with note upon note of dollars.

Rouge's mouth dropped open. Five hundred dollars?! Where Shadow had gained that great amount of money was beyond her!

Shadow handed the man stashes of dollars and eagerly took the key to their hotel room from him. Rouge had never seen Shadow look so collected and cheerful in all his life! After the man wished them a joyful stay, the two swiftly made their way through the double doors behind the receptionists and entered the magnificent gardens surrounding the hotel.

Shadow's fingers were twitching slightly; Shadow was anxious about the stay, as he had no idea as to whether Rouge would actually enjoy it or not. At the moment, all he cared about was finding out what their hotel room was like. He had already seen photographs of the king-sized bed, flat screen television and spacious bathroom, but he was unsure of the pictures' reliability.

The atmosphere was perfectly romantic, with lush, green grass gardens, multi-coloured flowerbeds and trickling fountains. Rouge felt a squeal of sheer delight rising to the back of her throat, but she swallowed it to prevent herself from losing her cool in front of Shadow.

"This place is amazing, I'm impressed already! Hmm, I wonder what our hotel room is like though…" she wondered in her head. Her and Shadow had not spoken to each other since arriving in the car park. The thing was that Rouge did not have a clue of what she should say, she was totally speechless! Shadow never treated anyone in a respect as generous as this, could it be that he had affections which he had yet to express to the huntress? That was what Rouge feared more than anything else, since she already was supposedly dating Knuckles…

Heaving their suitcases as well as their own weight up the several flights of stairs, Shadow and Rouge wandered down the stone, white balcony, admiring the healthy-looking palm trees as they passed the protracted row of rooms.

Finally, they came to a stop before an aqua-coloured door marked 'Room 89' with golden numbers. Without a second's hesitation, Shadow stuffed the key in the silver lock, twisted it until he heard a loud click, and pushed the door open to be overwhelmed by a mouth-watering coconut fragrance that wafted out of the room. Rouge sneezed as it trailed up her nostrils.

Stepping inside the room and slamming the door shut behind them, placing their suitcases to one side, Shadow and Rouge were almost blown into infinity at the astounding sight that met their crimson and sky-blue eyes.

Smoothly painted, lavender walls and a furry, zebra-print carpet covered the voluminous room. The king-size bed was large enough to fit four obese people on it and its sheets were silky linen. Leaning against the stuffed pillows were a few orange cushions with the word 'love' sewn on each one in sunny stitching. One humongous flat screen television hung on the wall opposite the bed above the white dressing table, which had diamonds engraved into the frame of the glittering mirror.

Shifting into the bathroom, Shadow and Rouge were almost blinded by the colour turquoise, as it completely covered the walls and tiles laid across the floor. Everything that they needed was there: toilet, sink, bath, shower, a bar of soap and a few bottles of shampoo and body wash.

"What do you think?" quizzed Shadow, as he sat himself on the edge of the bed. Rouge huffed in disbelief as she parked her bottom on the leather chair at the dressing table.

"What do I think? I don't even have the foggiest clue how to describe this, I'm just speechless!" she cried. Shadow smirked, all was going to plan so far!

"So, what are we gonna do during our stay, exactly?" asked Rouge, peering at the curtains covering the windows, which were the shade of wine and decorated with pink hearts.

Shadow shrugged as he collapsed back on the bed, feeling its sheets' incredibly soft material. "That all depends on what you're interested in doing."

This caught Rouge's attention. "Why? What is there on offer?"

Shadow scrunched up his nose in deep thought. "If I recall correctly, there is an outdoor swimming pool, top-quality spa treatment, a French restaurant, a popular nightclub and…a hot tub for hire." He grinned over at a blushing Rouge.

"Um, I think I'll give the hot tub option a miss!" giggled Rouge, fanning herself as she realized how heated the room was…could it be because Shadow was there?

Rolling his eyes, Shadow turned on his side so his back was facing her. "Spoilsport."

Rouge crossed her arms and smirked slyly. "Nah, I don't want you to get any ideas."

Shadow arched an eyebrow. "Why would I, Shadow the Hedgehog, do such a thing?"

There was a brief pause as Rouge barely stuttered in response to his unanticipated question. Before things could whirl out of control, Rouge cleared her throat and decided to discuss something different with him.

"Those gardens outside are simply stunning, don't you agree?" she piped, pointing to the closed door.

"Don't change the subject."

"What subject?"

"What we were just talking about."

"Why? What were we just talking about? I forgot."

"Don't lie to me."

"…"

Rouge gulped so loud, she was certain that Shadow had heard her. Why was he behaving this way? It wasn't like him to be a flirt. Was he feeling well?

"I don't know…" she murmured, spinning away in the chair to stare at her reflection in the mirror with a poker face.

"What?" asked Shadow, tracing a finger along his arm.

"I don't know why you'd get ideas, okay? Can you just drop it already?" snapped Rouge, banging her fists on the table.

There was another moment's silence between them, as Shadow figured what to say next.

"So, what would you like to do first?" asked Shadow, sitting upright and rubbing his eyes. The bed had been so comfortable, he had been gradually drifting off to sleep.

"Now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind going for a swim to cool off after being in a room as hot as this!" answered Rouge, wiping her forehead.

"Yeah, it is nice, is it not?"

"I didn't mean hot in that way, I meant temperature hot!"

"Oh, yeah, it is just a bit hot! It must be because you're here!" joked Shadow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" growled Rouge, marching over to him and standing over him with a death glare on her face.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" squeaked Shadow, crawling away from her to the other side of the bed.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, when I get my hands on you!" she roared, scrambling across the bed towards him.

"If you want to go swimming, then I'd better go to the bathroom and change!" he said, zooming into the bathroom and locking the door behind him.

Noticing his suitcase was still by the door, Rouge shook her head and dragged it over to the bathroom door.

"Shadow, you forgot your suitcase, you numpty!" she chuckled. In the blink of an eye, the door flung open and Shadow's arm reached out, grabbed the suitcase handle, pulled it into the bathroom and shut the door again, locking it.

Rouge sighed. "Wimp."

"Hey, I heard that!" bawled an annoyed voice from behind the closed door.


End file.
